


Something's Changed

by Deery-Fiction (ShadowDeerClan22)



Series: Things That Go Bump in the Night [1]
Category: Jacksepticeye - Video Blogging RPF, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye - Fandom
Genre: A little nods that hey! Other egos live in this city too!, Also Jackie is the Godfather of Henrik's daughter, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Angus and Silver were only supposed to be brief cameos, But they grew a life of their own lmao, I'll add more tags as we go, Jackie is gonna give Henrik grey hairs, Looks like they're staying, M/M, Marvin hasn't shown up yet either, Minor Violence, My first fanfic!, They just haven't shown up or been mentioned yet, Werecat Marvin, Werewolf Chase Brody, Werewolf Jackieboyman, blood mentions, but I do have plans to add more characters, but I know for a fact that he'll appear with in a chapter or two, it's cute!, so he's an exception, to be fair
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27910408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowDeerClan22/pseuds/Deery-Fiction
Summary: Change is a fickle thing. It’s never black and white, rather something grey and in between the darkness and the light. Some are born into it, and some are pulled into it much too late to stop it. Jackie, a young comic writer, is soon to learn that there’s more to this world than he ever thought possible, except in his own stories. He never thought that he would be anything more than ordinary. He never thought a chance encounter in the night would change his life forever.Summary by the amazing @7spaceace7 on Tumblr! Thank you Cam for the lovely summary!
Relationships: Jackieboy Man & Agnus the Survivalist & Silver Shepard, Jackieboy Man & Angus the Survivalist, Jackieboy Man & Silver Shepard, Jackieboyman & Henrik Von Schneeplestein, Jackieboyman/Marvin the Magnificent, Sean McLoughlin/Sean McLoughlin
Series: Things That Go Bump in the Night [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043757
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	1. The Night Things Changed

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is Deery here and this is my first fanfiction! @7spaceace7 on tumblr, also known as Cam, was a major help in motivating me and my conversations with her inspired this AU! Go show her some love! Also, this is me reposting my story from my Tumblr @deery-fiction, so if you see this on tumblr, this isn't stolen <3 
> 
> OH! And I highly encourage constructive criticism! If you genuinely have some advice for me on how to improve my writing, I would love to hear it! Or even if you just wanna say hi! I promise I don't bite!

It was dark, cold, and snowy and Jackie Boman was only just getting off from work. As a comic book artist he usually worked from home and handled all necessary interactions with emails. So there should be no reason for him to be out in the cold at night for something job related, right? Wrong. See, being a comic artist isn’t as lucrative as some people might assume, and while it might be enough for the most part, Jackie wanted some extra money as a safety net should anything happen. Hence his current predicament.

Normally, the owner of the small cafe that Jackie worked at, Seán, would help clean up and lock up the shop since he was usually there. However, Seán had something come up today, and since Jackie had worked at the little cafe for a couple of years now, he was the one entrusted to finish cleaning up and lock up. As it was a small business, there weren’t really many employees past Jackie and Seán, and the others that did work there had all already left at the end of their shifts. So that left Jackie to clean up by himself, which obviously meant it took him longer to clean up. By the time everything had been cleaned and put away, and Jackie ready to lock the doors, it was fairly late out. It didn’t help that with the winter months setting in, the sun had already long since set.

Jackie turns away from ‘Top of the Mornin Cafe’ with a sigh, starting the trek home as he breathes out into his hands and rubs them together, trying to warm them. He needs to start remembering to bring his gloves with him, the brunette muses to himself, because while he was warm enough between the hoodie and beanie, his hands were ice cold. He was opting to walk because he honestly didn’t live that far from the cafe, and it seemed like a waste of gas to drive or call an uber, he can handle a little cold just fine. Jackie was glad he did because he began to hear angry shouting from the alley just ahead of him, and a quiet whimpering just beneath the hollering. The comic artist would be the first to admit that he couldn’t say no to someone in need, and had gotten into his fair share of fights because he just had to play the hero. Not because he was seeking any sort of recognition or praise for his actions, but because he genuinely wanted to help people.

So when his ears picked up on the faint whimpering of distress that accompanied the shouting, Jackie knew he couldn’t just walk past without doing anything. Someone needed help! With that thought in mind, Jackie picked up his pace and turned into the alleyway, schooling his face into a stern glare which only strengthened once he took in the scene before him. There was a middle aged man screaming abuse at a figure huddled in the back corner of the alleyway, whom he couldn’t quite see clearly due to that darkness and the man standing between them. Whoever it was, they were clearly terrified as the man called them a ‘filthy mutt’ and went to kick them. Jackie knew he had to act quick before the asshole did any more damage, so he lunged forward, hoping to grab the guy before he landed the kick.

“HEY ASSHOLE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” The comic artist shouted as he grasped the man by the shoulder and yanked him back, the man stumbling backwards as his balance was disrupted. Jackie quickly took the opportunity to situate himself between the asshole and the person, who on closer inspection was a smaller, more slim built man, curled into the corner. Jackie slipped into a low stance, feet shoulder width apart and his fists raised, heart racing in his chest. He really hoped this wouldn't come to a fight, but he was perfectly capable of fending the other man off if it did. Not to say that the older man didn’t have some muscle on him, but Jackie was pretty fit for a comic artist too, since he liked to keep in shape with his home gym. He just knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Henrik if he got into _another_ fight.

“What the fuck is it to you, kid? This is none of your business” The Asshole, as Jackie has officially dubbed him in his head, sneered once he regained his balance. The Asshole gave Jackie a glance over before snorting and rolling his eyes. “What, you gonna fight me because of a dumb mutt?”

“What is it to me?! Are you seriously going to say it’s none of my business while you torment some poor guy for no fucking reason?! The hell is wrong with you?” Jackie shoots back in disbelief, baffled that this guy seems to think that what he had been doing was perfectly acceptable. “While we’re on the topic of what the hell is wrong with you, why the hell are you calling this guy a mutt?? Not that this would be any better if he was a dog, because it wouldn’t be, but what the hell are _you_ on about??”

“Like I said, none of your fuckin business, but if you’re really gonna try and defend that _**thing-**_ ” The Asshole spits with venom, and Jackie could see the smaller guy flinch from the corner of his eye. “Then be my fuckin guest, I ain’t stickin around while you get your ass mauled.” The middle aged asshole spins around on his heel and stalks out of the alleyway, grumbling all the while. Jackie was glad that the confrontation hadn’t come to physical blows, but he also was extremely confused by what the guy meant by ‘get mauled’? The comic artist turned around, crouching down as he allowed his expression to soften with concern at the still whimpering man. He couldn’t quite make out his face, it was still very dark out and the baseball cap the other was wearing really didn’t do Jackie any favors in trying to make out what the guy looked like. The whimpering did sound oddly dog-like, but the guy was scared out of his wits and probably in pain, who was Jackie to judge?

“Hey, man, are you okay?” Jackie starts to say, expression soft as he reaches out to rest a hand on the guy’s arm, both to comfort and to help him. This turns out to be a bad move as it clearly startles him, the whimpering snapping into a snarl as the man whips his head up. All of the sudden, Jackie feels teeth far too big and sharp to belong to any regular human sink into his arm as he falls onto his back, the guy that he had thought needed saving on top of him, continuing to growl. He could feel his breath seize, chest stalling in startled fright. It only lasts a few moments, but Jackie would swear that the man’s eyes were glowing. They had to be for Jackie to see them so clearly because the man’s face was still cast in a partial shadow, even though his baseball cap had fallen to the ground with his lunge at the brunette. The only other things Jackie could make out were the man’s yellow-green hair and a blood soaked corner of the man’s mouth.

Things were at a standstill, but it only lasted all of a couple of seconds before that punishing force clamping down on his forearm was being relinquished and the man was suddenly off of him. Jackie struggles to sit up, catching his breath from when it was knocked out of him as the other stumbles back, eyes wide and panicked. The next thing Jackie knows, the man lets out another whimper and bolts, shouting a stuttered apology and leaving his cap behind in his haste.

Well… that certainly just happened.

The brunette sits there, stunned for a moment, staring in the direction the other had run off before slowly getting to his feet. He shakes his head, trying to make sense of what just happened, glancing over at the baseball cap, one of only two things that proved the man had even been here. He notices that the word ‘Bro’ was emblazoned on the cap, and goes to reach for it with his right hand, wincing as the adrenaline slowly fades and he’s reminded of the pain in that arm. Jackie disregards the cap for a moment to focus on his arm instead. He can make out four distinct tears in the fabric, and consequently his arm, two on top and two on bottom, like puncture marks. That would make sense, since he was just bitten, but this was way more damage then should have been possible.

He grimaces, unsure of how he was going to explain this to well… anyone at this rate. In the end, he decides he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it and finally pushes to his feet, cradling his arm to his chest and biting his lip against the throbbing pain in the limb. Jackie knows he should probably head to the hospital or something, especially since he was bleeding a fair bit, but honestly? Jackie just wanted to go home, curl up in his nice, warm bed, and pretend this didn’t happen. He glances down once more at his arm before deciding he just needs to clean it up and it’ll be fine… Probably. At the very least until he gets home. With that, he resumes his journey home, though this time with truly no other soul out on the streets.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flash Forward ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~** _

Jackie closed his apartment door with a grimace, cradling his bleeding arm to his chest, second guessing his decision to go home instead of a hospital. His wallet really couldn’t handle the trip though, and the bite wasn’t _that_ bad, right? Maybe he should get a second opinion… Henrik should still be up, but the man was probably busy at the hospital. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to send the man a text, ask him if he believes that he _needs_ to go to the hospital. Maybe Henrik’ll see it during his lunch break or something? It’ll have to do, because Jackie was NOT going to the hospital unless he truly has to. He knows for certain that he’ll get his fair share of very creative German curses thrown his way for his idiocy, but he’s known the man for years, it wouldn’t be anything new to him.

Jackie pushes off from where he was leaning against the front door to make his way to the bathroom. He should have a first aid kit (courtesy of zhe good doctah himself) in there, and he can wrap the wound up for now. The comic book artist winces as he pulls off the hoodie, hissing softly to himself as he tries to carefully pull the fabric from the wound. It’s not easy, what with the fabric being soaked in blood at this point and sticking to the bite, but he manages it eventually. Honestly, he’s just grateful that he runs warm enough that he can get away with wearing only a t-shirt under his hoodie despite the cold, because he would not want to have to repeat that with a long sleeve shirt. Jackie makes quick work of cleaning, disinfecting, and wrapping the wound, cursing under his breath all the while. Well, as quick as one can while using only one hand. He makes sure to fumble with his phone to take a picture of the bite before wrapping it, so he could send it in the text. Once that’s been taken care of, he packs away the first aid kit and tosses the hoodie in the trash. Between the tears in the fabric, the blood staining it, and his lack of ability in remedying either situation, Jackie knew that the hoodie wouldn’t be salvageable. At least it wasn’t one he really liked or anything.

Suddenly, a bout of sudden exhaustion swept over the young artist and he stumbled. He knew he had been tired since he left the shop, and coming down from the adrenaline from earlier certainly hadn’t helped matters, but this truly felt like it came out of nowhere. The brunette shakes his head, trying to shrug it off for a few more moments. Jackie shucks off his jeans and replaces them with more comfortable sweatpants before settling onto his bed, deciding that he wouldn’t bother with his shirt. It takes a few tries and a fair bit of fumbling but Jackie manages to shoot off a short text to Henrik about the weird encounter he had and ask what he should do with the picture attached. He doesn’t last much longer before the exhaustion is tugging on his eyelids like lead. As he settles into bed, waiting for a response from the doctor, Jackie slowly drifts to sleep.


	2. Zhe Good Doctah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackie gets a worried, but familiar, visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait everyone! Here's chapter 2 for all of your lovely eyes! I did my best, but yes, I do accept constructive criticism if you have any you would like to share! This one is just a little bit longer then the first. Also, feedback on the pacing would be great! Am I going to slow? Am I going fast enough? I would like to know! I sincerely doubt I'm moving to fast though lmao

Someone is knocking on the door.

That is the first thing Jackie became aware of as he slowly, gradually drifted back to awareness from what had to have been the deepest sleep he had ever had. Despite the fact he had probably never slept more deeply in his life, the brunette struggled to even open his eyes, exhaustion still making his limbs heavy. It didn’t make sense, it was like he hadn’t slept at all. Everything felt achy on a level he had never encountered before, not only was it bone deep, it felt like his very atoms themselves were sluggish and sore. Above all though, his head felt like someone had taken an ice pick to it and now it throbbed in time to the knocking on the door. 

Whoever it was would just have to come back later, because Jackie did not, under any means, want to get up. With that groggy thought, the artist snuggled back into the covers and tried to escape the knocking by covering his head with his pillow. However, Jackie’s prayers went unanswered as the knocking did not, in fact, cease. If anything, it became louder and more persistent, now accompanied by a familiar voice calling his name. It was Henrik, and boy did he sound aggravated. Why was Henrik here again? The night before suddenly returned to Jackie and he remembered the weird confrontation, the bite, and texting Henrik. Which meant the angry Henrik outside was a worried Henrik, and the longer he kept the German waiting, the more he was going to hear about it from the man. 

“Alright, Alright! I’m coming!” Jackie called out. With an exhausted whine, Jackie forced his lead like limbs to cooperate, being careful to not to put weight onto his right arm. Instead, he pushed himself upright with left arm and stumbled out of bed, rubbing at his eyes as he shuffled to the door. The brunette gets as far as opening the door before Henrik is storming in, grabbing him by the back of the collar and dragging him right back into the main living area. 

“What the hell, Hen?!” The artist squawks, stumbling to keep his balance as he’s dragged. He lands with an ‘Oof’ when Henrik pushes him to sit on the couch, the doctor grumbling unkind things under his breath in German as he goes. Jackie is quailed into silence with one stern glare from Henrik as the other goes to retrieve the first aid kid Jackie used last night from the bathroom.

“Vhat zhe hell? Iz zhat vreally vhat you’re zaying to ME? If ANYONE zhould be asking zhat, it zhould be ME! Vhat zhe hell iz vrong vith you, Jackie?!” Henrik ranted as he swiftly came marching back into the living room, aid kit in hand as he settled down beside the wounded brunette. “I pass out after a vreally difficult double zhift at zhe hospital vith my phone dead, only to find in zhe morning after charging my phone that my abzolute DUMMKOPF of a bester Freund haz gotten himzelf hurt, AGAIN. Not only zhat, but he ZTILL refuses to go to a hospital like a zane perzon! You’re going to give me grey hairz at zhis rate!”

Uh oh, Schneep’s accent was coming on thick, which after years of living in the states, only really ever happened when the German doctor was either drunk, or experiencing intense emotion. This was a sure fire sign that Henrik was genuinely either really angry, or really worried, but probably both. Jackie would know afterall, the two had been childhood friends ever since the other had moved in next door with his family from Germany. Being Henrik von Schneeplestein’s first and best friend in the states had afforded Jackie the privilege of being able to read the man like a book. 

“You know how I feel about hospitals, ‘riky” Jackie said softly, giving Henrik a strained smile before glancing away from the doctor as gently took his arm to start unwrapping the bandages. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry for worrying you. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know, Jackie, but it’s been years now, you can’t keep avoiding them. They are there to help you just as I am, you can trust them” Henrik pleads quietly, tone softening and accent growing less pronounced as his initial agitation faded. 

“You can’t keep doing this to me. I don’t think my heart can handle you sending me any more vague text about some injury you got, before dropping off the face of the earth. You weren’t answering any of my texts and that is truly a horrifying thing when I know you are injured, Jackie.” He continues, pausing in unwrapping the bandages to pop the aid kit open. “You’re too reckless for your own good, it’s bad for my heart. One of these days you’ll get hurt badly enough to have to go to the hospital because I won’t be able to help you here.” 

“You warn me about it every time and it has yet to happen, ‘Rik, so I’d say I’m doing something right!” Jackie jokes, trying to lighten the mood back up. He glances down at his arm as the bloody bandages finally slide off. There’s a pause as both Jackie and Henrik have to take a few moments to process what was revealed. 

Nothing. Nothing but smooth, unblemished skin was revealed. Despite the blood staining the bandage implying otherwise, there were no injuries. No puncture marks from sharp teeth, no tearing, not even a scratch or scar to indicate there had ever even been a wound there in the first place. Jackie couldn’t believe his eyes, because he knew for a FACT that there had been a wound concerning enough that he had decided to bother Henrik about it, and now it was just gone. There was no way he could have made up a wound like that, and there was certainly no way he had hallucinated the pain and exhaustion either. 

“Jackie… Swear to god, if you broke out the SFX Make-up to prank me last night and then let me worry my ass off from the moment I saw the text until now, I am actually going to smack the shit outta you.” Henrik deadpanned to the stunned artist. While Jackie was having a small crisis over the magically disappearing punctures, Henrik was decidedly Unimpressed with the brunette. At the very least, his accent wasn’t choking his words like it had been when the man had come storming in. Henrik was disappointed, but Jackie wasn’t  _ actually _ a t risk of getting smacked.

“No, no, Henrik, I would never! You know I don’t like stressing you out like that!” Jackie defends, because while Henrik wasn’t truly furious with him, the artist still wanted to assert that he really wouldn’t do that to his best friend. He knew how busy Henrik was, between his shifts at the hospital and taking care of his kid. Jackie helped out where he could, babysitting his godchild whenever possible, but he knew how exhausted Henrik was and he would never want to needlessly bother his childhood friend like that. 

“Then how else do you want to explain the fact that you are perfectly fine, Jackie? There’s nothing here for me to treat, it doesn’t even look like a cat scratched you.” Henrik counters, gesturing to Jackie’s barren arm before turning to close the first aid kit. “You can admit that you were just trying to mess with me, no matter how in poor taste I find that joke to be. You’re lucky that I’m too tired to be too upset about this. Please, just try not to make a habit out of pranking me by scaring the daylights out of me like this.”

“Look, I know this looks bad for my case, but I really didn’t prank you Henrik! I really was bitten by some guy last night! I have the ruined hoodie in the trash to prove it to ya, Hen!” Jackie insists, jumping up and rushing to the trash can to pull out the Hoodie, returning to show the other the ripped and bloodstained sleeve of the old, white hoodie.

  
  
“You could have just taken an old hoodie that you were going to throw out anyways and ripped it, added a little fake blood and planted in the trash to make your prank more believable” Henrik tried to deflect, but there was a slight hesitancy as he said it, eyeing the fabric as if he were debating how much he really believed what he just said.

  
  
“Why would I do that if the prank ended with you unwrapping the bandage and seeing nothing was wrong? You know I wouldn’t do that sort of thing” Jackie pushed hopefully, having seen the slight pause from the other. He wasn’t lying and he knew Henrik had to know that. They had known each other for far too long for Henrik to not know all of Jackie’s lying cues and who the artist was as a person. 

  
  
“Look, Jackie, You sound awfully sincere right now, but I do not know why you are trying so hard to convince me that this wasn’t some sort of elaborate prank.” Henrik sighs, pushing his glasses up a little to pinch and rub at the bridge of his nose. “As much as I want to believe you, the tears in the fabric aren’t consistent with human teeth, and unless you suddenly developed super healing overnight, you are virtually unharmed. Which you would not be if you were genuinely injured.”

“I- It sounds crazy, I know. I don’t know how this happened, but I know I wasn’t hallucinating last night. Mostly because I don’t think you can hallucinate things like pain and exhaustion, and I know I definitely didn’t do this to my hoodie” Jackie flounders for a moment, unsure how to convince Henrik of his honesty. It wasn’t like the other was wrong, he should still be hurt. Frankly, Jackie had no clue why he wasn't. Was he going crazy? No, there was definitely a wound, it showed up in the picture, otherwise Henrik wouldn’t be here. 

Jackie lets a hand fall to his right forearm, grazing the unblemished skin with a pensive, troubled look. He didn’t want Henrik thinking he was crazy, not that the other man seemed to believe him when he said he wasn’t pranking him. However, he didn’t have any proof that he could give to the doctor that the other man couldn’t shrug off as staged. 

“Actually, though it is quite rare, people have reported tactile hallucinations like pain. The exhaustion could just be from you refusing to listen to my advice and pulling all nighters drawing.” Henrik points out with a raised eyebrow. “Look, Jackie, as much as I would love to stick around and hang out, I mean that sincerely, I really do need to go. I have to pick Willa up from Mein Elternhaus.”

  
  
“I.. Yeah, alright, say hi to Willy Bean and your parents for me. We still on for the Holidays?” Jackie finally acquiesced, letting the argument about his injury go. It was probably for the best, he wasn’t even sure what else he could say about it. Henrik seemed similarly relieved that they were moving on from what he thought to be a prank gone too far. “Oh! Do you still need a babysitter next week? I know you said your parents could handle Willa this week, but you know she’s always welcome here.”

“Yes, as far as I am aware, but we might have to celebrate a little early. I don’t think I’ll be able to get Christmas off from work, since there’s always a bunch of idioten getting hurt over the holidays.” Henrik elaborates, getting up and putting the kit away before making his way to the door. Jackie trails along behind him, still holding his forearm as he listens to his friend. Henrik turns around to face the comic artist with a small, fond smile. “And if you are still sure you will be available to watch her next week, then yes. It would be much appreciated, you know how much she loves her Uncle Jackie.” 

“That sounds awesome, man, I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’ll never turn down looking after the rugrat.” Jackie shot back with an equally fond smile. His goddaughter would never fail to put him in a good mood, she was just so cute! With that, Henrik took his leave, the two brunettes exchanging a quick hug goodbye before the German made his departure. Jackie shuts the door behind Henrik, promptly letting his smile drop as he ruffles a hand through his hair, appreciating the texture difference between the shaved sides and the softer, fluffy top. He lets the feeling ground him as his thoughts race, darting back to the mystery surrounding his bite (or rather, the lack thereof).

“UUGH, How is that even freaking possible? Henrik might think I’m pranking him, but I know for a fact that happened last night… So what happened to the bite?” He thinks out loud to himself, pacing away from the door. As he passes the kitchen, he catches a glimpse of the microwave clock and lets out a sigh of relief.

  
“Well, at least I know how late I slept in. I still have a few hours before my shift starts, so I should have plenty of time to get ready.” Jackie muses, running his fingers through his hair again. “I should probably see if I can’t use this time to sketch out some panels, I can worry about this when I don’t have a deadline coming up.” 

With that, Jackie grabs a banana from the kitchen and heads to the bedroom to get changed. That way, he won’t have to worry about rushing to get ready, since he has a bad habit of losing track of time when he’s drawing. He changes his shirt out for a nice wine red sweater and a white undershirt, his sweatpants being replaced with a pair of black jeans. Once that is all settled, he takes a seat at the desk in his office with a pencil, a couple sheets of paper, and his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He really didn’t want to bother with his contacts today, so glasses it is.

The brunette sets an alarm on his phone, knowing how he gets once he’s in the zone, and starts to work. It’s not long before he’s focused on the task at hand, the world around him fading out and the passage of time losing meaning to him. He’ll be here for awhile.


	3. What's happening...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day at work for Jackie, but things are about to get weird, as Jackie is about to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Deery here <3 Sorry for the delay if there was anyone waiting for the next part to come out, but here it is! And if you like the way I write (which I assume you do if you're three chapters in) then you're in for a treat because this chapter is the longest one yet at 6,610 words! As opposed to the roughly 2 thousand and something the other two chapters averaged. So if you were hoping for longer chapters, here's one! Maybe it can make up for my absence lmao. As always, I welcome constructive criticism and I am really looking forward to hearing back from all of you! ^w^

A few hours had passed and Jackie was finally pulled from his task by the ringing of his alarm. He leaned back and stretched in his chair with a grateful groan as his joints popped and his back cracked. He should probably work on his posture, because he always got so stiff after working on his assignments for a while, but he felt good about the progress he made at least. Now, it was time to grab a snack to go and make his way to the cafe. 

After swiping a banana from the kitchen counter and putting on his coat and shoes, Jackie was out the door. He paused for a moment before turning around with a slight curse, snatching up his phone and phone charger before officially being on his way to the cafe. He could charge the device once he was there, he just needed to remember to bring it in the first place. The comic artist checked his volume as he went on his way, letting out a confused hum. The volume for his alarm was set where it always was, which he would expect since he didn’t remember fiddling with it, but he could have sworn it sounded louder than it should have been. Maybe he was just imagining it, or it just seemed louder against the otherwise silent room? That was probably it, right? It would make sense, usually he’d play music as he worked to help him focus, but he hadn’t this time so the room was quieter then it usually was. That was all it was. 

Jackie kept a brisk pace as he took the familiar path to the cafe, wanting to make good time but also not particularly worried about being late. He always made sure to factor in how long it would take him to walk there and potential foot traffic when he set his alarms, so he wouldn’t need to rush. Which he was glad for, because as he neared Top of the Mornin’ cafe, he noticed a fairly large group of people forming a loose half circle at the corner. Jackie allowed himself a few seconds to be confused, before a shifting in the crowd allowed him a peak at what they were all looking at. 

All at once, he realized exactly what had gathered the crowd at the corner. It was a street magician that would occasionally take the corner from across the shop, amazing the crowds with admittedly impressive acts of ‘magic’. Jackie wasn’t sure what, exactly, the man did when he wasn’t performing on the street corner, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the man worked in special effects. Some of the things he did, the comic artist wasn’t entirely sure how he pulled off. Then again, Jackie wasn’t exactly a magician himself, so a lot of the act was something he didn’t understand. Besides, it would ruin the magic of the moment if he figured out the cat mask wearing magician was doing it. 

He wasn’t there everyday. Sometimes, entire weeks would pass before the magician appeared again, but it was always memorable when he did. However, considering the man would start his street side shows who knows how long before Jackie’s shifts at the cafe, the comic artist had yet to be able to catch the beginning of the show. As such, the brunet still wasn’t certain what the other man’s name was, but he did know the other was fairly attractive, even with the cat mask that obscured the upper half of his face. The magician certainly dressed to impress at least; every time Jackie managed to catch his shows, the magician was always dressed like he was attending a grand formal event as opposed to performing on the streets.

The crowd was thick enough that Jackie couldn’t quite make out more than the man’s masked face, he certainly couldn’t see what trick was enchanting the crowd this time. Even still, the brunet allowed himself to linger for a few moments at the edge of the gathering of people, smiling to himself at the awe that the others were exhibiting. Still, he only had so much time to spare, and so Jackie backed away from the spectacle and made to cross the street. What the comic artist-turned-barista failed to notice was the magician turning to watch his retreating back through the crowd, a curious expression on the magician’s face that was obscured by the mask. 

As Jackie approached the store front, he could make out the figures of Angus at the counter and Silver cleaning tables through the glass. With a wide grin spreading across his face, Jackie paused on the other side and gave a jauntily teasing wave to the two. Angus rolled his eyes with a smile, returning the wave as Silver stuck his tongue out. It must be a fairly slow day if Silver is out front to help clean the tables, the more stockily built man usually in the back baking the pastries they sell in the display case. They were both pretty cool dudes in Jackie’s opinion, which was good since they typically shared the same shifts. He would even meet up with Silver outside the cafe to work out together, or even just hang out at one of their apartments. The two of them clicked very well together, and it was always a fun time. Angus was nice to be around, but in a different way. The Aussie was cool, calm, and collected where Jackie and Silver were loud and boisterous. It was honestly a breath of fresh air to hang out and appreciate a quiet moment with the other man. It grounded their antics and he kept them from forgetting that they were at work. Overall, he really enjoyed working with these two.

The brunette pulled a few funny faces, laughing as Silver returned them. Eventually though, he needed to actually enter the store, so he straightened up and finally pushed the door open. Jackie stepped in quickly, wincing as the bells attached to the door chimed obnoxiously as he entered. He cringed away as the door shut with another ringing clang, turning back to Angus and Silver with a grimace. 

“Have the bells always been that obnoxiously loud, or did we get new bells for the door? Because I swear they’re louder than they were yesterday.” Jackie complained, heading towards the counter so he could sign in for his shift. He raised an eyebrow at the confused yet amused looks the other two were sending him, as if he was the weird one. 

  
  
“Well Jackie, they’re the same bells as always, so they aren’t any louder or softer then they always are.” Angus mused back at his coworker, flicking Jackie on the ear as he walked past. “Maybe get your ears checked?”

  
  
“Nah, Ang, I think our pal here just has a hangover or some sort of headache. I know loud noises are never agreeable to a hurtin head.” Silver hypothesized, giving the table next to him another cursory wipe to make sure it was all good to go. He meandered over to join them at the counter as Jackie signed in. 

  
  
“Oh hardy har har, I’m pretty certain that my ears are fine. Plus, I can assure you that it is not a hangover, you both know I don’t drink during a work week.” Jackie defended, before a mischievous light appeared in his eyes, slowly raising his head to look at the both of them with a bright grin. “OR maybe you two are getting old, huh? Is your hearing going, oldies? Just a pair of old men, can’t even hear the bells!”

“Oh, You’re gonna get it now, Nerd boy!” Silver teased, hopping over the counter to pull Jackie into a noogie. Jackie half heartedly tried to escape the hold as Silver messed up his hair, not wanting to struggle too hard and knock anything over by accident. Silver doesn’t let up on the noogie, teasing Jackie back. “Could an old man do this, ya dweeb?” 

“Why am I the dweeb? You like superheroes too!” Jackie whined without any real heat, eventually managing to carefully slip out of Silver’s hold without causing a mess that all of them would have to clean up. Though Angus stepping in and motioning for Silver to cut it out might have helped, since Silver really had a crazy grip when he wanted to.

“Because I’m cooler than you, obviously” Silver puffs out, the mischievous grin on his face softening the arrogance of his words to something more silly then serious. “I mean, have you looked at me? I just _ooze_ cool!”

“Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that Silver, you’re lucky you found Roxanne, man” Jackie poked back, feeling the old ache at the thought of Silver dating the blonde woman. He shoved it to the side, keeping a smile on his face. He had already moved on from that, and Roxanne is a lovely lady. There was no need to dwell on it now. 

“Yeah, you’re right, I’m damn lucky Rox chose to stick with me” Silver said with a dopey look in his eyes. The man was absolutely infatuated with that girl, and Jackie was just glad that his friend seemed to be so happy. Though, the stockier man got really sappy and gooey about it sometimes. It was cute, but it could get a bit much, especially since it didn’t seem like Roxanne spoke about Silver as often as Silver spoke about her.

“Careful now Silver, your sap is showing.” Jackie returned, lightly kicking the other man before grabbing the apron with his name on it from the hook and slipping the loop around his neck, neatly tying it in the back. It was just one of the perks of having worked at the small cafe for so long. “I assume it’s a slow day if you have time to be out here, gushing about your Lady Friend Roxanne. Is Seán here? Or is he still busy with that thing from last night?”

“Aw, leave the bloke alone, Jacksie, He’s in love!” Angus broke in, still looking amused. Jackie just waved it off with a grin. He knew that, it was just fun poking at Silver about it, since the other tended to blush when people pointed it out. Angus continued on with a shake of the head, wiping down the counter from Silver’s jump over it. “As for Seán, he’s still out, so it looks like you're locking up again.”

  
  
“Ah, I see. Will the two of you be helping me today, or am I cleaning up solo again?” Jackie asked, half still joking, half genuinely asking. Last time, Angus had to rush back home because the man’s dog sitter had called in a panic about the dog getting sick, the poor teen having they not known what to do. So it wasn’t a surprise that the animal loving Aussie had rushed off to check on his pooch. Silver had asked to leave early so he could prepare dinner for his girlfriend since it was apparently date night. “Also, why am I the one entrusted with the keys to lock up with, again?”

  
  
“Because Seán is afraid that I’ll try to sneak an animal in overnight because my place barely lets me keep my dog as is, and he knows Silver would be in too much of a rush to get back to Roxanne to remember to lock up properly.” Angus offered with a cheeky grin, because he was exactly right. The Aussie had a habit of picking up injured animals and nursing them back to health, and it would be exactly within his character to bring an injured animal into the cafe overnight because his landlord won’t allow anymore animals. They also all knew that Silver was a bit scatterbrained when he was in a rush and had forgotten to lock up in the past for that exact reason, which is why he got out of lock up duties. Which left Jackie as the only person on this shift that could be trusted to lock up and not get the cafe investigated for health violations. There were two other people on shift tonight, one helping Silver in the back and one out front to clean the tables, but both were newbies and thus not usually trusted with something as important as locking the cafe up when everyone left. “Also, I should be able to stay and clean up, as long as Daisy doesn’t freak out the sitter again.”

“Ah… about that… I was hoping you’d let me head out early again? It’s the last time! I promise! I swear on my mother’s grave that it’ll be the last time I ask to leave early!” Silver admitted sheepishly, giving what he probably thought was a charming grin but more so came across as nervous. 

  
“Really? Again? But you just got yesterday off early. What’s up, is everything alright?” Jackie questioned with concern, Angus shooting Silver a similarly worried look as the stockier ravenet rubbed at the back of his neck. Silver seemed almost embarrassed and wasn’t looking either of them in the eye. That wasn’t good, He really hadn’t meant to embarrass the other. Jackie was just surprised that Silver had just asked for yet another early day, and right after getting off early yesterday too. Silver usually waited until his days off to have date nights, so he could make the most of the entire day, as the other liked to say. So It had already been out of character for Silver to ask yesterday, but to ask two days in a row? Had something happened between him and Roxanne? “You know if you ever need anything, we’re here to help you man. It’s what friends are for”

“Yeah, I know man! It’s nothing big. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not huge. I just… date night was a bit of a disaster last night is all. I want to make it up to her, and I would rather do that sooner rather than later.” Silver reassured, though it wasn’t all that reassuring. 

“Alright, fine. Yeah, you can go early, but I know that Angus is going to become my favorite at this rate” Jackie relented, but he still eyed Silver. Sometimes something just didn’t seem right, but he also wasn’t going to force Silver to talk if he really doesn’t want to talk about it. “You’re totally staying tomorrow, no ifs ands or buts. No more ditching me to hang out with your pretty girly friend.” 

  
  
“You lie! I’ll always be your favorite! Uh, no offense Angus.” Silver asserted. On cue, Angus started making mock offended noises, resting a hand on his heart and going on about how Silver had no faith in the Aussie's awesomeness. The stocky pastry baker stuck out his tongue like the mature adult he is in retaliation. 

  
  
“Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that Sil, now apologize to Angus for hurting his feelings.” Jackie teased, laughing at the antics of the other two, leaning against the counter. Angus looks expectantly at Silver, waggling his eyebrows as he waits as if to say ‘you wanna apologize, you know you wanna’.

“Never!” Silver denied childishly, giggling a little. Angus gave an offended gasp, but before he could retaliate, the door chimed. A customer came walking in, signifying that playtime was over and it was time to get back to work. Silver straightened up from his playful slouch to wave at Jackie and Angus, disappearing into the back to make sure the back was clean. He needed to make sure everything was ready to go, even though they didn’t need anymore baked goods for the front for now. 

Jackie moved to his side of the counter, sending the customer a politely warm smile as he came up. The brunette was simply grateful that the bell, though still a piercing sound, no longer made his ears ring now that there was a little distance between him and it. He could already tell though, that he would be leaving with a headache if he stayed this sensitive to the sound. For now, he’ll just grin and bear it, maybe there won’t be too many people coming in today and it won’t be too much of an issue?

  
  
That turned out to be too optimistic. 

There were many factors that contributed to Jackie’s migraine, but it had been okay first. It had been predictably rather slow given it was still just before the lunch rush. Maybe a bit busier due to the crowd outside watching the magician the brunette had spotted earlier, but it was nothing unbearable. That was, until the lunch rush actually hit, and then suddenly people were filtering in for a quick cup of good coffee and a delicious snack from the display. Not that Jackie could blame them, he’d prefer the cafe’s coffee over the horrible office quality stuff these people had probably been drinking until now, but the frequent ringing of the bells on the door had been grating on his nerves for awhile now. Between those bells, the constant low level of talking, and the sounds of the machines working behind him, Jackie could feel his head throb in time to his heartbeat.

The door chimed yet again and Jackie turned to face the customer with a strained smile, but a smile nonetheless. He was almost proud at how he had prevented himself from cringing at the way the sound of the bells made his already aching head pound harder, but he had little time to mentally rejoice. Why? Because the moment he turned to face the young woman, and it was a pretty young woman, he got a lungful of some awfully strong perfume. Jackie felt his eyes start to water at the intense artificial scent of flowers, doing his damnedest not to visibly choke on the chemical scent-taste that almost felt like it was coating his throat. Holy fucking shit, how much perfume was this lady wearing? Still, Jackie had a job to do and he really hoped that the way his eyes had teared up wasn’t noticeable.

Luckily, the dirty blonde didn’t seem to have noticed his little freak out over her overuse of perfume. If anything, she seemed more preoccupied with looking up and down what she could see of him from the other side of the counter than he was with choking on her perfume. Jackie straightened up, doing his best to keep his smile up, both to not let on how awful he was feeling and to not show how he wasn’t really in the mood to be checked out by some lady at work. While he was on the topic though, she wasn’t _bad_ looking, too strong perfume aside. She was on the shorter side, in a pair of black jeans paired with a nice white blouse and shiny black pumps. The dirty blond was… modest in her assets and slim in the way that spoke more of a naturally fast metabolism than in spoke of a regular workout routine. Her make-up was subtle, professional, and in neutral tones, just enough to soften the edges of her face and accentuate certain features like her eyes and lips. Overall, she was a very pretty woman, but ultimately she didn’t seem like his type. Jackie was sure she was perfectly nice, and he did value personality above all, it just didn’t change the fact that he was more attracted to men and athletically fit women. He just hoped she would make her order and leave when she got it because he didn’t know how long he could last against the assault on his nose. 

Unfortunately, she seemed a lot more interested in him then she was in getting her coffee and going. Looks like he was going to be the one taking her order, as she didn’t seem like she was going to go Angus’ line. So, with his plastered on smile, he waited for her approach. He didn’t have to wait long as the business woman made her way to his line.

“Welcome to Top of the Mornin’ cafe, how may I help you today, ma’am?” Jackie intoned politely when she reached the front of the line, subtly leaning back away from the overpowering scent of her perfume.

“Oh, I’ll just take a large dark roast coffee with a bit of creamer, but I certainly wouldn’t mind a bit of sugar from you~” She purred as she leaned against the counter and bat her lashes up at him. “Though, with you around, I won’t need to add any extra sugar.”

“Coming right up, ma’am, what name would you like me to put on the cup?” Jackie asked, only a little amused at the slightly cheesy pick up lines. 

“Cassidy, and what’s your name, handsome?” She answered, giving him a coy smile. Jackie could feel his head pounding harshly and he had to resist the urge to rub at his temples. It wouldn’t be good to snap at a customer just because he had a migraine. Just because he knew Seán well enough to know he wouldn’t be fired over one bad encounter with a customer, didn’t mean it gave him a free pass to be rude. The brunet subtly took in a few calming breaths, ignoring the way the perfume burned his nose.

“The name’s Jackie, Miss Cassidy. Would that coffee be for here or to go? And is there anything else you would like?” Jackie stated, pointedly not gritting his teeth against the throbbing behind his eyes as he gave a noticeable glance down to where his name was visibly embroidered on his apron.

“Mmm, To go, unfortunately. I would love to stay here and just chat with you, Jackie.” She pouted, leaning against the counter as Jackie put the order into the register to give her the total for her coffee. “As for if there is anything else I would like? Hmmm, maybe a blueberry muffin? And I’d love to have your number, too~”

  
  
“Alright, I’ll have your coffee in just a second, Miss Cassidy.” The barista replied, pointedly not bothering to entertain that last comment with a response as he added the muffin to her total. He didn’t want to make a spectacle in the cafe by outright turning her down, or it might just encourage her to try harder. He didn’t think his poor head could handle being her perfume any longer then he needed too, so he wanted to avoid anything that might make her stay longer. So what if that’s a bad business decision, his head was aching. Sue him. Jackie set about making her coffee with deft, practiced motions. Luckily, her order was a simple one and after pouring a freshly brewed cup of dark roast and adding the desired amount of creamer, he set it and the blueberry muffin from the display on the counter. He accepted the money she handed him for her order and set about getting her change so that she could leave. The brunet set it on the counter for her to take, but Cassidy seemed to ignore it for a moment, taking the coffee in hand.

“This coffee isn’t that hot… mind holding this for a little bit?” She winked, but Jackie just gave her a strained smile. He squeezed the edge of the metal countertop subtly but tightly to reign in his headache induced irritability before finally responding to her after a beat of silence.

“I assure you that it is a freshly brewed cup of joe, as promised. If it got any hotter it would probably be unsafe go serve, Miss Cassidy.” Jackie sidestepped her attempt at flirting with him, hoping she’d catch a hint. Luckily, she seemed to finally give in, taking her change from where he had left it on the counter and leaving, wishing him a good day with coffee and muffin in hand. Though, through the cafe windows, he could see her checking the cup for a phone number that he didn’t leave on the cup. He didn’t know why she did that, considering she had been at the counter the entire time and had watched him make her coffee. It’s not like he could have sneakily written it on her cup without her noticing, even if he had wanted to.

Jackie took a deep breath, releasing his grip on the counter as he slowly exhaled, gradually letting the tension bleed from his frame. He raised a hand to scrub at his face, continuing to take deep breaths. The brunette could still smell her potent perfume in the air, but at least she was gone. It could have gone worse, she could have been much ruder about it, but he just hadn’t been in the mood. Jackie glanced down at the counter, wanting to take a few more seconds to try and soothe his headache when he saw it. Right there, where his hand had been grasping the metal just moments before, was a dent in the same shape as the heel of his palm. That couldn’t be right… But sure enough, it was there and not even running his fingers along it to feel the indent could disprove its existence. Jackie swallowed, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed before dragging a napkin dispenser over the dent. Hopefully no one moved it and discovered the accidental damage… It wasn’t massive, but it was still noticeable and Seán still didn’t let him or Silver live down the fact that they had broken the old, nicer counter top, resulting in the metal replacement in the first place. Jackie didn’t want to give the other man more ammo.

However, that wasn’t Jackie’s primary concern right now. Jackie knew he was strong. He had been maintaining a good workout routine for years now. A life as the kid who got into fights to protect others, plus years in self defense and boxing, mixed with a regular workout routine meant Jackie was no noodle armed weakling. However, he’d never been strong enough to dent a good quality, metal countertop before. It was disturbing, there was no possible way he had gained that much strength overnight, right? Sure he had been irritated and his head hurt, but he didn’t think he had enough adrenaline to dent metal like that. Hell, he didn’t even think he had been squeezing that hard! Between this and the way the bite wound from last night had just healed up like it had never been there, Jackie was seriously starting to freak out.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get to freak out for long before he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. Jackie startled, jerking his head up to meet the concerned greenish blue gaze of Agnus. His vision swam for just a second, headache harshly disagreeing with the sudden, jerky motion, but it cleared shortly after and he could see the other’s worry clearly. Oh god, did Angus see the dent? He didn’t know how to explain that, since there was no way he could say he dropped something there. Everyone would have heard the crash if he did.

  
  
“You okay, Jackie? You’re looking a little pale and out of it… Is your headache getting worse? I should have some Tylenol or Aspirin in my bag if you really need it.” Angus offered, brows furrowed as he looked for any other signs of Jackie being potentially unwell. He didn’t like seeing his friend’s hurt, and though it had gotten him labeled as the mom friend, he wanted to help however he could. 

“Oh, no I’m fine!” Jackie quickly protested, before wincing. Angus wasn’t going to believe that, if he really was that visibly unwell and freaked out, so Jackie was quick to amend his statement. Which was lucky, because he could see the other winding up to refute the obvious lie. “Well, my head does still hurt, so I would really appreciate whatever you got, but it’s not that bad, I promise! That lady’s perfume was just super strong is all, my headache wasn’t exactly eased by it.”

“Really? I was standing right next to you and I didn’t really notice it? I mean, I guess it was pretty strong if I could smell it from over the counter, but it wasn’t that bad…” Angus queried, backing up to check his bag in the back for the over the counter pain relief. It was only a brief absence, and Angus was soon back to hand over two tablets of low dose Tylenol and a bottle of water to the pained barista. Just in time to see Jackie’s disbelieving look.  
  


“Not that bad? Is there something up with your nose, Angus? I swear, I was practically choking on roses when she was here.” Jackie exclaimed, accepting the pills and the bottle of the water with a gracious nod to the Aussie. “Thanks, man. But seriously, her perfume was so strong I could taste it. If the people around you can _taste_ your perfume, then it’s way too strong.”

  
  
“I still think you’re exaggerating, dude. Are you sure you don’t just have a sensitive nose because of the headache? I know headaches can make people sensitive to light, so it wouldn’t surprise if they also made you sensitive to strong smells.” Angus offered, brow raised as Jackie mulled it over.

“I guess… yeah, maybe. I’ve noticed that the coffee and the coffee grounds all smell stronger to me too, but I thought it was because I was using the stronger stuff…” Jackie conceded, wrinkling up his nose. Though, he privately notes, a migraine induced smell sensitivity doesn’t explain why he can suddenly dent metal with a slightly irritated squeeze of the hand. 

  
  
“See? There you go! Ya got your answer. Now you just need to push through til the end of your shift, then you can take a nice hot shower and a good long rest when you get home.” Angus announced cheerfully, patting Jackie lightly on the back before returning to his end of the counter to help another customer. 

Fortunately for Jackie, the hours passed and the rest of his shift went by with little further incident. There weren’t any more overly perfumed business women trying to flirt with him, and the volume remained fairly low and calm. Best of all, none of his coworkers questioned the new location of the napkin dispenser, and thus no one discovered the new hand sized dent on his end of the counter. Unfortunately, the Tylenol didn’t last as long as it normally did and halfway through what was left of Jackie’s shift, his migraine came back with a vengeance. Still, he powered through, he still had to work whether he had a headache or not. Besides, he’d suffered from broken bones growing up, and this wasn’t quite as bad as what he remembered a broken bone to be like. 

Soon enough, though it felt like an eternity after his migraine flared back up, it was time to clean up and close up. Unsurprisingly, as promised at the beginning of the shift, Silver was rushing out the door after swiftly cleaning up his work space in the back. The stocky man bid them a harried farewell before he was dashing away, the clanging of the doorbell making Jackie cringe at the loud noise. He debated double checking the back to make sure it was cleaned up properly, considering the rush Silver had been in. Ultimately, Jackie decided against it, Denise could handle it. At the very least, Angus was still there. Between the two of them, it was fairly quick work of cleaning the counter, floor, and tables. They had just finished stacking the chairs when Jackie finally motioned for Angus to go ahead and go, Denise (the lady who worked in the back with Silver) having already left just a few minutes prior. 

“Are you sure, Jackie? I know you’re not feeling well and I’d hate to leave you alone to clean up again.” Angus double checked, frowning at the other. The Aussie still had a bit of time before his sitter had to leave and he had to go home, so he had no issue staying longer. Especially since Jackie had already stayed after alone the other night, it didn’t seem fair to leave him alone with the shop twice in a row.

“Yeah, I’m sure, Angs! It’s all mostly cleaned up anyways, I just want to do another glance over to make sure everything’s in its place. Maybe take a second to enjoy the quiet, see if it helps my headache calm down.” Jackie waved off, giving the other a smile. It was slightly pinched, but it was a genuine smile nonetheless. “Really, it’s nothing that requires the both of us. I’ll probably be out right behind you, even! So go home, say hi to Daisy for me!” 

“Alright, if you’re sure, Jacks. Goodnight! Make good use of that day off tomorrow” Angus reluctantly relented as he collected his stuff. However, he did pause at the door to sternly add another friendly warning. “You better use that day off to sleep in and get some actual rest, Jackie! I bet that headache of yours is so bad because you’ve been overworking and stressing yourself out, trying to do both your comics and the cafe. I bet you’d feel better if you actually gave yourself a break for once.” 

“Yeah yeah, have a goodnight Angus!” Jackie playfully dismissed with more energy then he felt that he had. He sent the Aussie barista off with a grin before slumping against the counter with a groan once the other was out of sight. God, he felt like Shite. He was back on the barista side of the counter, having just finished checking through the cash register. So he reached over to the wall switch to flip off the light and shuffled back so he could lean forward and rest his elbows on the counter, laying his head between his hands. Jackie just let the quiet linger, letting himself soak in the silence without anything to further aggravate him. He hadn’t been lying about wanting to see if that would help. The brunet had some fairly noisy neighbors that he shared a wall with back at the apartment, so if he wanted any genuine quiet, he’d have to find what he could of it here. Admittedly, Jackie could feel something inside of himself stir and settle peacefully now that he was alone in the light of the moon, though his headache still throbbed dulling in his skull.

Jackie just rests there for several, long moments before the silence is shattered by the bell attached to the door ringing. As peaceful as the quiet was, it only made the piercing toll of the bell even louder, and Jackie couldn’t help the soft whine of distress that left him. The lights were off, who the hell enters a cafe this late when the lights are off?

  
  
“Aww, does the puppy have a headache? Poor puppy~ Maybe I can make that pesky headache go away for you, puppy!” A soft, masculine voice cooed. Well, that was condescending as shit, even though it was said rather sweetly. Who the hell just calls people puppies? The same assholes that enter a cafe after hours when the lights are out, apparently.

“Look, Sir, I’m sorry but Top of the Mornin’ Cafe is closed for the night. If you would like anything that we have to offer, you’re going to have to wait til the morning as everything has already been packed up” Jackie mumbled with a groan, not even bothering to look up at the would be customer turned intruder. Was that a dumb thing to do? Exceedingly so, but Jackie wasn’t in the mood, and he was pretty sure he could handle a fight if he had to. His self defense teacher from when he was a kid would kick his ass if they ever found out he just blatantly didn’t look at an active intruder, but Jackie couldn’t find the energy to care at the moment. Whoever it is doesn’t say anything, their soft footfalls and even breathing as they walk over the only clue they were still there. That, and the fact the bell hadn’t rung with their exit. 

The Brunet momentarily startled as the footsteps paused just in front of him and suddenly a hand was running through Jackie’s hair. Unthinkingly, Jackie let his head tilt back to follow the soothing touch as if on instinct. He felt the fingers of both of the other man's (he assumes it’s a man, they sounded masculine when they spoke earlier) hands follow the sides of his head and curve gently behind his ears until the other’s palms rested on his temples. There’s something about the other that’s keeping him from panicking, some hidden instinct telling him that it’s okay to trust the other. There’s a soft warmth at his temples and a faint glow that he can make out through his closed eyelids and then his headache is easing away. Jackie finally opened his eyes as the man drew away and he blinked back to his senses, quickly stepping back away from the counter as he realized that he had just let all of that happen without protest. 

Before him, the magician he had seen earlier in the day stands. The other man was a fair bit shorter than him, though it wasn’t hard to be shorter then Jackie, who was fairly tall. Even still, the other seemed to be on the shorter side of average. That didn’t detract from the air of power that seemed to surround the cat mask wearing individual. He was certainly dressed to perform too, now that he could get a clearer look at the other’s outfit. Though, as he had noted earlier on in the day, it looked more like he was ready to perform on a stage, then on a street corner for the entertainment of the passing masses. 

Now that there wasn’t a crowd blocking Jackie’s view, he could see the magician was wearing a long sleeved button up white shirt, with a royal blue vest over top. Coupled with that, the other was wearing what looked like a pair of double button split hem pants, since from what Jackie could tell there were three silver buttons going down either side of the man’s hips. To top off the ensemble, a deep midnight blue cape was draped over his shoulders, the inner side of the cape sparkling in the moonlight like stars. Of course, there was also the man’s signature porcelain white mask with green and blue accents, grassy green eyes practically glowing through the mask’s sockets. His hair was vivid green, bright and vibrant, and so fluffy and soft looking that Jackie caught himself wanting to run his fingers through it. No, Jackie mentally scolded himself, it was a bad time to be thinking like that, considering the man was trespassing and literally just running his hands all over Jackie’s head without warning a few moments ago.

The magician leaned against the counter flirtatiously with an amused tilt to his lips as Jackie mentally processed everything, seeming to be waiting for Jackie to catch up. The barista steadfastly ignored how the other’s mildly flirtatious actions were much more welcome to him than Cassidy’s earlier attempts.

“Hello Handsome, it’s a pleasure to meet you~ My name is Marvin, and I think there’s something we need to discuss.”


End file.
